The present invention relates generally to tool pouches, and more particularly to a tool pouch with a magnetic member to position items in the pouch.
It is generally known in the art to produce tool pouches which are designed to suspend from a work belt and include pockets to hold items. The items generally are small tools and fasteners. Such items generally include sharp portions in addition to being small and relatively indistinguishable from one another.
Conventional tool pouch pockets include simple open areas into which small tools and fasteners are dropped. Therefore, to retrieve an item, the user of the tool pouch must place a hand into a pocket for the desired item. This haphazard retrieval may produce detrimental effects. For example, the user must look or search for the item which is desired, especially if more than one of a particular type of fastener or tool is in the pocket. This wastes time and effort.
Thus, it would be advantageous to have a system from which small tools and fasteners may be removed with minimal effort. In this way, the user would not be required to search around in the pocket in the attempt to find the item.
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for removing small fasteners and tools from the pockets of tool pouches while not requiring the user to search within the pocket. In particular, a magnetic member is disposed adjacent the top of a pocket of the tool pouch. Fasteners in the pocket are attracted and affixed to the magnetic member in the tool pouch. In addition, the pouch itself may be periodically jostled so that a small portion of the items located in the pocket reach the magnetic member and adhere thereto.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood however that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.